Tristin's Going Home
by Christine Writer
Summary: Trory set to Home by Chris Daughtry.  Full summary inside.  Oneshot!


A/N: Okay so this is about Tristin and Rory. Tristin is a Marine, injured in Iraq, and the song is "Home" by Chris Daughtry. Please be nice; I've been thinking about this for a long time.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

I'm staring out into the night, trying to hide the pain.

Tristin Dugray stared out into the camp. The sky was almost inky black, occasionally flashing bright with gunfire.

I'm going to the place where love and feeling good don't ever cost a thing.

He had just been told that there might be a leave available to go back to the States. He hoped so, because he didn't want to die in Iraq without ever seeing her again.

And the pain you feel's a different kind of pain.

He remembered the pain he felt at home. It was different, because it was usually all in the name of fun. This was real, and it hurt. Suddenly, there was an explosion, and it rocked every fiber of Tristin's being. Then everything was black.

He woke later in the field hospital. He couldn't feel any pain. Soon, he was told what had happened. A hand grenade had been thrown close to his foxhole, and it had cost him his legs. He wanted so badly to cry, but held back. He was a Marine.

Well I'm going home, to the place where I belong, and where your love has always been enough for me.

He wished that Rory loved him. She was all he thought about. She was what got him through waiting to be shipped home.

I'm not running from. No, I think you got me all wrong.

Tristin wondered if his arrival would be in the papers, and hoped that it wouldn't, especially if she hadn't become a reporter. He didn't want her to think he was coming home for no good reason. He only wanted her to know the truth.

I don't regret this life I chose for me, but these places and these faces are getting old. So I'm going home.

He was boarded onto a plane, and the ride was very long. It seemed an eternity.

The miles are getting longer, it seems, the closer I get to you.

He could almost see her face. He wished that the plane would fly faster than it already was.

I've not always been the best man or friend for you. But your love remains true. And I don't know why. You always seem to give me another try.

Tristin wished that he had not been such a jerk to Rory. He wished that she would find it in her heart to give him another chance, but in his heart he doubted it.

So I'm going home, to the place where I belong. And where your love has always been enough for me. I'm not running from. No, I think you got me all wrong.  
I don't regret this life I chose for me. But these places and these faces are getting old...

Be careful what you wish for, 'cause you just might get it all. You just might get it all, and then some you don't want.  
Be careful what you wish for, 'cause you just might get it all. You just might get it all, yeah.

When he had graduated military school, the government had already become knee-deep in this war. He immediately signed up and was deployed.

Well I'm going home, to the place where I belong, and where your love has always been enough for me. I'm not running from. No, I think you got me all wrong.  
I don't regret this life I chose for me. But these places and these faces are getting old. I said these places and these faces are getting old, so I'm going home. I'm going home.

He finally reached Washington D.C., where he was transferred to a commercial flight bound for Hartford. He was helped off the plane, and immediately saw her. Rory. Plus a few hundred other people, but still--Rory.

"Tristin!" she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Oh my...thank God you are okay!"

"Rory," he said quietly, "can we go somewhere private?"

"Sure." she smiled, wheeling his wheelchair towards a quieter part of the airport. Once there, she took a seat opposite him. "What's up?"

"I love you." he whispered, tears filling his eyes. "And I was afraid I was going to die without ever telling you that."

"Oh, Tristin." she breathed. "I love you, too. I never stopped." And right there, in Hartford International Airport, Tristin and Rory shared their second kiss.


End file.
